1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing server, a printing system provided with the printing server, and a printing method for creating image data representing an image based on print data and an additional image to be added to the image.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, a kind of POD (Print On Demand) service is provided, and in the POD service, printed matter can be received at an setting location of a printer, such as a convenience store by registering a document created on a personal computer via the Internet onto a specific window. In this kind of service, a discount of a print fee is proposed by adding an advertisement image on the reverse side of printed matter and printing the printed matter.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-266884 discloses a copying machine that forms an image of which print is required from a user on the front side of a sheet material (recording paper), and records on the reverse side thereof information, such as an advertisement, news, etc., received from a server. Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-268831 discloses an advertisement printing system in which a printer on a network acquires print data from a computer and prints the print data on the front side of a recording paper, while acquiring advertisement data from a server and printing the advertisement data on the reverse side thereof.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-70601 discloses an advertisement printing system in which a host apparatus (a terminal apparatus or an information processing apparatus) connected with an advertisement managing apparatus via the Internet adds advertisement information provided from the advertisement managing apparatus to image information to create print data, and prints the print data using a printing apparatus directly connected with the host apparatus or performs print control of the printing apparatus. Especially, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-70601 discloses previewing for print from a setting screen to be displayed when print is selected by the host apparatus.